On Ice
by Wrigglingwigglers
Summary: Marinette gets injured while on a school trip and is essentially stuck in her room until she's healed. Cat Noir pays her a visit to check on her, and things between them become... close. Marichat/Adrinette. Revealfic. I'm bad at summaries.
1. Chapter 1

" _That's_ it, _easy_ girl, one foot… in front of… the other… Take it slow - there's no need to rush. Just take it _nice_ and easy. Watch your footing, be mindful of other people, 'atta girl..."

"Alya, you don't need to baby me, I know how to skate," Marinette looked at her red-haired best friend with a pout, "I got pretty good at it when-" she stopped herself, blushing faintly. Alya didn't know _all_ of the details of her last ice skating adventure, just the basics, "-when I came here last time."

"And _I_ know _you_. If I don't keep an eye on you you're likely to trip on yourself and go crashing through the wall of the rink," Alya was literally skating circles around her, smirking, "Or you'll crash into some _one_ because you're not paying enough attention." She prodded her best friend, who was staring across the rink with that glassy half-lidded stare that she always got whenever she spotted _him._

"I-uh-what?" Marinette darted her eyes to Alya and grinned, "I'm paying attention! And I can skate," she slipped past her friend and skated forward, "I'm not a _total_ klutz, I'm just _prone_ to _being_ klutzy. There's a difference," she glanced back at Alya and stuck out her tongue, giggling as she gained some speed and started to pull ahead of her.

Alya grinned and caught up with her, gracefully skating alongside her on one foot, "Should we," she did a little spin on the spot, then pulled ahead past Marinette, "Have a little race, then, Oh Mighty Skater?"

"You're on!"

When they had evened out, Alya grinned and shouted, "Go!" before zipping off far ahead of Marinette, getting halfway around the rink before Marinette could even get some speed beneath her skates. She easily lapped Marinette once, slowing down to yawn as she passed her and winking before pulling away ahead of her again while Marinette struggled to gain speed without becoming wobbly on her own legs. Determined to, at the very least, not lose by much, Marinette started ramping up her own speed and zipped after Alya,kicking up little sprays of ice as she flailed for traction before she really got her feet to cooperate with her. Their classmates watched in bemusement from along the outer wall of the rink, some of the more advanced skaters were in the middle, clapping and laughing as the pair raced along between everyone.

They did two laps at matched speed, but Alya was still up by one and tiring out by the second. Marinette saw her chance and took it, putting all of her effort into making the gap between them much smaller. She put her head down and put all of her strength and determination behind her as she raced far past Alya, the gap becoming only a half lap of difference - a quarter lap - a tenth of a lap, Alya was exhausted from her early lead and Marinette was gaining fast, a few more feet and they'd be even again.

As Marinette rounded the bend, almost within touching distance of Alya, she passed one of the entrances to the rink and saw a large boot come sticking out from behind it. She was going too fast to slow down easily and panicked, jamming her toes forward to try and stop herself as quickly as possible. She stumbled, felt a pain shoot up her right leg, then, still moving quickly, tripped over the boot and went tumbling across the rink. As she went, she slammed into someone, but her eyes were shut, she instinctively grasped onto whoever it was to try and stop herself, only succeeding in dragging them down with her. She landed flat on her back, smacking her head against the ice, and lay still for a moment, groaning with her eyes closed.

A hush fell over the rink for a moment, then came soft whispers between some of Marinette's friends, and she could hear the sound of Alya skating over to her. She opened her eyes and was shocked when she didn't see the ceiling of the rink above her, but dazzling emerald eyes just inches away from her own face. Adrien was nearly laying on top of her, his hands positioned on either side of her shoulders, hair hanging close enough to tickle at her forehead, his legs interwoven and tangled with her own.

 _Inhale._

Time stood still - neither Marinette nor Adrien nor anyone in the rink seemed to do so much as even blink for a long time. Marinette swore she heard piano music in her head as she stared up into Adrien's eyes, a blush beginning to creep onto her cheeks ever-so slowly.

 _Exhale._

Time came back around eventually and Adrien blinked, staring down at Marinette, his eyebrows knitted together with worry, "Are you okay, Marinette?"

"A-Adrien I-I-I-" she shifted to try and move away then hissed, jumping and sitting up quickly to the point that she and Adrien headbutted each other as she went, but that hurt significantly less than the pain shooting through her right ankle. She clutched her hands around it, eyes squinted shut as tears pricked at the back of her eyes.

Adrien rubbed one hand against the side of his head that Marinette had smacked against when she sat up, and looked down at her before slowly rising, "Can you stand up?" he offered her his hand.

She looked up, her blush intensifying as she hesitated, then gently slid her hand into his. She slowly got to her knees, then tried to push herself off the ice with her left foot, then added her right to it. Pain shot up her leg and she nearly collapsed back down onto the ice until Adrien wrapped his arm around her waist and guided her arm up around his neck, hugging her against his side to support her.

Alya slid to stop beside them, "Marinette! Are you okay? That looked like it hurt!"

"I-" she winced, picking her right foot up off the ground and wobbling uncertainly as she leaned on Adrien, trying hard to not focus on the fact that _Adrien_ had his arm around her and was literally holding her up at this point. "My ankle," she managed after a hissed breath, "And my head…"

"Come on, lets get you off the ice and get a look at you," Alya reached out to help her away from Adrien, but he waved her away with the hand around Marinette's waist.

"It's okay Alya, I can take her - your other skating partner looks a little left out." He gestured towards Nino who had been leaning quietly on the other side of the rink, previously to wait for Alya and Mariette to finish their race, now halfway towards them in a rush to come help Marinette. "Besides," he pointed to his own head, "I might have a bump that needs to be looked at," he smiled, then slowly started to help Marinette do a combination-skate-and-limp off the ice.

"I…" Alya glanced between Marinette and Nino, a small smile creeping its way onto her face as she looked at her friend. Marinette's eyes said 'please don't leave me alone to embarrass myself' and Alya's eyes definitely shined back with a glimmer of mischief and she nodded to Adrien and turned away to go skate with Nino.

Marinette kept her eyes firmly pointed towards her feet, hearing the hushed whispers of many of their classmates as the pair made their way through the small exit and over to the small clinic within the rink. It wasn't manned, just a small room with a first aid kit in case of emergencies - at least there they could get something done about her injury for the time being.

As they made their way towards the clinic, Marinette got the creeping feeling up the back of her neck that someone was glaring daggers at her from nearby, but she didn't have the luxury of being able to turn and get sight of who exactly was exuding so much anger in her direction.

Adrien helped Marinette into the small clinic and got her settled down into the one and only chair in the room before he removed his skates and gloves, setting them on the floor beside the chair. Without a word, he knelt in front of Marinette and began untying her laces to remove her skates, gently pulling the left skate off before moving to the right one. He took the laces on the right more slowly, careful not to move her foot as he did so, and tried to loosen them as much as he could before he gently gripped the heel and toe. "This might hurt, Marinette, but I need to take this off before your ankle swells up. You can squeeze my arm if it hurts too much, okay?"

Marinette nodded, preemptively digging her hands into the armrests of the chair and gritting her teeth as she felt Adrien gently reposition the skate and then begin to move her foot to slide it off. She let out a squeak and felt him hesitate, letting the pain return to a dull ache before he tried again. He repositioned her foot, which she had reflexively moved when the pain shot through it, and held it gently in place for a moment approaching his next move carefully.

"Okay, I'm going to try again - try not to move this time, okay? I want to get this off quickly so that we can try and get ice on it as soon as possible." He waited a beat, then grabbed the skate and began to slip it off. Marinette let out another squeak of pain and darted her hand to his shoulder, squeezing tightly and bunching his shirt into her fist as he freed the skate from her foot and tossed it aside. He quickly worked to remove the sock underneath as well, stretching it as much as he could to avoid it squeezing at her ankle as he pulled it off. He watched her flinch and felt her grip on him tighten as he quickly rolled it down and tossed it to the side with the skates.

"All done, now comes the part that will help it feel better," he reached into the first aid kit and retrieved a cold pack from somewhere in the bottom of it. He cracked it, then shook it between his hands for a moment until it had gotten cold enough. Withdrawing a roll of gauze from the kit, te quickly positioned the ice pack around Marinette's ankle, then used the gauze to wrap her foot and ankle in place with the ice pack underneath.

Marinette shuddered, then relaxed, releasing her grip on Adrien's shirt and sinking into the chair, a half-pained half-relaxed look on her face, "Thank you," she said softly. Her head was throbbing from that rough landing and she felt so tired from the pain, she wanted to take a nap right then and there, but what would Adrien think of her if she just fell asleep in the middle of an ice rink? "I think I should probably go home," she sighed.

"Well you're not walking home, not on that foot - in fact you should probably go to the hospital, that could be a sprain or you could have very seriously hurt yourself. You should get it checked out and properly treated."

She sighed, nodding, "I guess you're right," finally, she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Oh! Your head!" Gasping and placing her hands over her mouth, Marinette groaned, "I'm so sorry, I messed up your ferfect pace- I mean perfect face- I mean-" she covered her eyes now too, "I bruised your head, your dad is going to kill me."

Adrien laughed softly, pushing his hair out of the way and looking in the small mirror that was hanging on the wall, "It's just a little bruise, nothing a little makeup won't cover. Now come on, we'll drive you to the hospital so you can see a doctor about your ankle… and probably your head too, you hit that ice hard."

Marinette looked down at her lap, nodding quietly, her hands curled into fists on the fabric of her jeans. She still felt tired, that fall had knocked the wind out of her sails and now Adrien was giving up spending time with their friends to take her to the hospital. The tears welled up and spilled over before she could stop them, trickling down her cheeks and pattering against her clenched fists. "I-I'm so s-s-sorry," she sniffled, pressing her hands to her eyes once more, "I-I'm r-ruining your t-time out with our fr-friends a-and it's all b-because I'm a k-kl-klutzy idiot," she sniffled behind her hands.

Adrien watched her for a moment, feeling a smidgen uncomfortable at the sight of Marinette, one of his closest friends, crying in front of him. He hesitantly moved beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, rubbing his hand up and down her arm as he laid his free hand over hers. "Hey it's, uh, it's okay." He felt her shudder - that was a poor word choice. "You're not ruining anything!" He quickly corrected, now _sounding_ uncomfortable as he tried to comfort her. "Hey, look at me," when she didn't make a move to look up, he slid away from her side and knelt in front of her again, "Look at me, Marinette."

He gently coaxed her hands away from her face and clasped one fist in both of his hands, stroking his thumb soothingly over the back of her hand, "I would much rather make sure that you're okay than be ice skating," he smiled the smallest, sweetest smile she had ever seen on his face as he spoke the words, "You're my friend and if you're hurt then I don't care about spending time with anyone else - I want to spend time with you to make sure you're alright "

Ah, nail in the coffin. Marinette's eyes welled up with a new, burning Cascade of tears that fell freely, speckling Adrien's hand as they fell. She looked down, sniffling and nodding a couple of times before shifting forward in the chair, "We should g-go," she whispered with a shuddering breath. She looked up at him and smiled a little, "Maybe we'll get done quickly enough so that you can come back and have more fun with everyone."

Adrien smiled in that sweet, charming, lopsided fashion that she loved so much and stood, holding out his hand, "What fun will it be if Marinette can't join us?"

As they were heading out to Adrien's car, his arm firmly wrapped around her waist, her arm once again slung up around his shoulder so that she was fully supported against him, Marinette gave a small wave to Alya who was resting on the bleachers nearby. Alya smiled a little, waving back, and skated to the edge of the rink to talk to her.

"Where are you two off to?"

"I'm going to take Marinette to the hospital to get checked out, it could just be a sprain, but I won't doubt the possibility that she seriously injured herself in that fall. With as hard as she hit, I won't be surprised if she has a concussion, too. Just want to make sure she's okay," he shrugged a little, now looking uncomfortable as Alya raised an eyebrow at him with a grin.

"Marinette, call me when you get home," she leaned close to Marinette's ear, now whispering, "I want _all_ the details about what goes down tonight. Understood?"

Marinette turned a dark shade of crimson and nodded, half-glancing up at Adrien as he watched Alya with a confused look on his face.

"Alright you two, no time to dilly-dally. Off to the hospital together," and with that she practically pushed them out the door.

As the door swung shut behind the pair, Marinette felt that chill run up her spine again and tried to turn and see who was behind her, but in her current position she only caught a brief glimpse of them storming out of view of the door before it closed. She had a feeling that this wasn't over yet.

 **No doubt in my mind that a lot of this will be OOC in many ways, but I've been writing this story for... two weeks. I'm 20K words in and I'm still not done with it. I was going to wait until i finished and then upload it, but a 20K+ word one-shot seemed a bit much.**

 **Lemme know what you like, lemme know what you hate, and please do not tell me where I repeated words or have what clearly appears to be auto-corrected words because I absolutely did write some of this on my phone at 3am and no I did not go through and proofread because who needs that hahahahaha... ha.**

 **okay thank you i love you bye bye**


	2. Chapter 2

She was so warm. It felt like she was swaddled in cotton balls inside of a fluffy cloud surrounded by space heaters. She didn't feel hot or uncomfortable, just warm.

"Marinette?" Adrien gently shook her shoulder, "Don't fall asleep, the doctor said you have a minor concussion and you need to stay awake for now." He watched her sleepily blink and look at him, and then turn crimson when she realized she had been resting her head on his shoulder. For a moment, they were barely inches apart, and then she practically teleported to the other end if the backseat of the car, cramming herself as close to the door as possible. "We're almost to your house, would you like me to help you inside?"

"I'm wine- Fine!" she opened the door and slowly eased herself out of the car, then turned back to get her newly-acquired crutches.

Adrien scooted towards her side of the car and picked the crutches up, holding them out for her. "Are you sure?"

Marinette bowed her head a little and nodded, "Thank you, Adrien," she said softly, not looking at him as she reached and felt her hand graze across his. She glanced at him through her eyelashes and blushed, trying her hardest not to smile like a lovesick crazy person.

Adrien placed one hand over hers and smiled, "Of course, Marinette," he patted her hand softly, "I'd do anything for my good friends."

Marinette felt her heart sink but didn't let it show on her face as she positioned her crutches and turned away from him. She heard the car door get pulled closed behind her, but didn't turn back to wave as she tried to focus on walking with the crutches without tipping over like one of those drinking bird toys. As she reached the door, she reached into her bag for her keys - the bakery was currently closed since her parents were out of town for a sort of baking convention.

She struggled to balance on her crutches as she juggled the keys from one hand to the other, eventually resolving to lean on the wall as she tried to keep herself upright. Halfway to opening the door, she dropped the keys and let out a frustrated groan, trying to figure out how to approach picking them up once more.

"I've got it."

Marinette jumped when she felt a hand press against her hip, pulling her upright as she wobbled on her crutches. She watched as Adrien picked up the keys and reached past her to unlock the door. He held the door for her, allowing her to hobble inside and then meet up with her at the foot of the stairs, taking her crutches and supporting her so that they could walk up slowly in tandem. When they reached the living room, he helped her to the couch and released her so that she could perch at the edge of the cushions.

"I didn't think those would be so hard to master," she said sheepishly, Adrien smiled a little at her attitude towards the crutches as he watched her give them an annoyed scowl. "Thank you, you know, again," she looked down at the big blue boot on her foot.

Adrien walked over and leaned the crutches against the couch, looking around, frowning, "Where are your parents?"

"Oh, they went out of town, some work thing. It's just me for a little while," she shrugged, "It's fine, I kind of like the quiet." She stretched, then flinched as she did, "Ow…" she clutched her shoulder and rubbed at it a little.

"You probably got some scrapes from the ice," Adrien commented, walking up behind her, "May I?"

Marinette nodded nervously, turning away from him as he gently placed a hand on the back of her shirt and pulled it down enough to see her shoulder, she felt her ears go red with her cheeks as he inspected her.

"Yeah, you should probably at least put something on those," he ran a finger gently along one of the scratches, then another, tracing his eyes down beyond the edge of the shirt and down her back. She had scrapes and scratches running the length of her entire upper back, stopping where her body naturally curved inwards a little. Feeling his cheeks growing warm, Adrien quickly released his grip on the shirt and cleared his throat, "Maybe Alya could come over and," he had to pause to clear his throat again, "Help you patch those up so that they don't cause you any discomfort."

Marinette refused to look at him, she could feel her entire face glowing a bright red and didn't want him to see it. "Y-yeah I c-can tall bather-call later a-and see if she's free…"

The room grew quiet for a moment, interrupted only when a horn honked just outside the building.

"Oh," Adrien said softly, "That's my,"

"Your bodyguard- yeah you should go, your father is probably worried about you. That hospital trip took awhile." Marinette continued facing the opposite direction, idly picking at loose threads on the holes of her jeans, "S-so…"

Adrien cleared his throat for a third time, then gently patted Marinette on the arm, "I'll see you later," he waved, although she still wasn't looking at him, and walked out, closing the door firmly behind himself.

Marinette collapsed backwards against the sofa, groaning and covering her face, "That was so…!" She sighed in frustration at herself, then stopped when she heard a soft giggling. She opened her purse and looked down at her kwami with a frown, "It's not funny, Tikki," she sighed.

"You're right," Tikki zipped out of her bag and up to her face, nuzzling her cheek, "It's also not funny that now we have this," she gestured at Marinette's foot, "Which means you can't be Ladybug. What if someone gets akumatized while you're healing?"

"I think we'll have to approach that when we get to that point, Tikki," Marinette scowled at her foot, "I can't believe I tripped over my own-" she paused in her self-loathing, "No wait, I tried to stop because…" the memory flashed through her head, "Someone was _trying_ to get me hurt. You don't think that-"

Tikki shook her head before Marinette could even finish, "If it was someone that knew you were Ladybug they wouldn't just hurt you, they'd try to take your earrings, but no one even made an attempt. They just wanted to see you fall." Tikki flew around behind Marinette and tugged on her shirt, "Do you want me to help with these?"

"Maybe later, Tikki, right now I'm… I'm kind of tired. I should probably just go upstairs and lay down for awhile until everything stops hurting," she stretched, ignoring the sting of the scratches on her back and teetered to her feet, using the couch for support as she hopped on one leg around it.

She got to the stairs and gazed up them, hesitating as she laid a hand on the railing, "You know what," she said, "Maybe I'll hang out down here for awhile instead."

"If you used the crutches-"

"I couldn't use the crutches standing still, I think I'm better off not trying to use them to climb stairs." She made her way back to the couch and flopped down, propping her foot up on a pillow at one end. "I'm just going to take a nap here and then I'll try the stairs again later when I'm feeling better," she yawned and curled up halfway, tucking her arms under her head and falling into a restless sleep.

Adrien leaned against the bakery door, his hand pressed against his chest. He could feel his heart pounding for some reason as he stood there taking slow breaths to calm himself down. He glanced back at the door before pushing off of it and stepping into the waiting car. The drive home was silent, as usual, and Adrien stared down at his gloved hands and sighed softly, pulling the gloves off and laying them in the seat beside him as they approached his house.

Stepping out of the car, he half-heartedly waved to Nathalie before making his way up to his room and flopping down on his bed as Plagg flew out from within his shirt.

"What's wrong with you?" the little black kwami questioned as he hovered around a dish of camembert that had been left out for him.

"I don't know," Adrien sighed, rattlin his head around against the pillows, "Something keeps nagging me in the back of my head."

"About Marinette?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. I'm not sure."

"Well, you did get real _handsy_ with her back there." Plagg shrugged as he shoved an entire wedge of camembert in his mouth. He continued to speak as he chewed, "But you're a _teenage boy_ it's only natural, I guess."

Adrien groaned and threw a pillow over his face, muffling himself as he felt his face burn with a blush. He continued to groan into the pillow for a minute or so before he sat up, furrowing his brow, "She's home alone."

"What-"

"Plagg, claws out!"

"No no no wait-"

 **Abrupt endings are apparently my cup of tea. Sorry about that :) When I write a scene jump I tend to do the little - between the scenes and it just makes sense to end after one, although Adrien's part here was short enough to include with the rest of it. So... yeah.**

 **Still didn't proofread - apologies for issues!**


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette whimpered, sitting up quickly from her position on the couch. She grasped her ankle through the boot and hissed. At some point she must have shifted and her leg had slid off the couch, slamming into the floor and sending absolute agony rushing through every fiber of her being. She clenched her eyes shut, taking unsteady breaths as she waited for the sharp pains to subside, then slowly released her leg and settled it on the ground. She looked around the dark room and sighed, she really needed to go upstairs and shower before bed - but could she even make it up the stairs?

"Might as well try," she mumbled to herself and rocked herself up onto her good foot, half-leaning and half-hopping, grasping the couch for safety as she made her way back around to the stairs. She stepped up once, then again, then did a little hop to try and conquer the next step. Her injured leg smacked against the step below her and she hunched over, feeling tears sting her eyes for the umpteenth time that day. She crumpled down onto the third stair and gripped her ankle once more. "Stupid foot… stupid boot…" she muttered, longing to just rip the whole boot off of her foot and be done with it before she even had a chance to really get used to it. She poked at it, feeling tears of frustration replace those of pain and begin rolling down her cheeks. She tried to wipe them away, only succeeding in making herself more frustrated at the task.

A creak resounded above and she darted her eyes up the stairs, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as she tried to peer through the darkness to see what was up there. Was it someone using her balcony as an entrance to break in while they thought no one was home? Was it whoever had tripped her at the ice rink coming to get her while she couldn't run away? What if it was an akuma victim with a grudge on her?

"Marinette?"

She recognized the voice and the familiar green eyes as they came into view and peered down the stairs at her. She felt her whole body relax in a single instance, then immediately got mad.

"Cat Noir you scared me half to death! What are you doing sneaking into my bedroom?"

"I, uh," _Great, how am I supposed to explain this?_ "I heard from a friend, that you'd gotten hurt. I wanted to come see if you were, you know, okay." He shrugged sheepishly, then smiled and hopped up on the railing, sliding all the way to the bottom and landing on all fours beside her. His eyes seemed to dance in the dark as he looked her over, "Why are you sitting on the stairs?"

She folded her arms across her chest and looked away with an indignant expression on her face, "Maybe I like sitting on the stairs…!" She tried to hide it as best as she could, but she could hear him chuckle softly under his breath when her ears started to burn red from having been caught unable to walk up the stairs on her own.

"Let me help you, _Purr_ incess," without waiting for another word from her, Cat Noir scooped Marinette into his arms and cradled her against his chest before bounding up the stairs to her bedroom, careful not to hit her foot against anything as he carried her up. He sat her gently in her computer chair and finally got a better look at her face. In the dark, he could see them, but he wasn't sure. Now, though, he could see the tears that had gathered in her eyelashes, and the fresh tracks on her cheeks. Without even thinking first, he leaned towards her and gently kissed them away.

"C-Cat Noir-" Marinette frantically pushed away from him, rubbing at her eyes quickly to banish any further tears that may have existed there, "What are you-"

"I'm sorry," he grinned a little at her reaction, "I couldn't bear to see my Princess cry," he took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles, then smirked up at her under his eyelashes, "It would be just _claw_ ful of me to let you sit here alone in the dark while you cried."

Marinette felt her heart skip a little as his green eyes locked to her own. Maybe she was just lonely without her parents at home, or maybe it was because she was hurt and just needed a friend, but something about Cat Noir seemed to be pulling her in, like those wide dazzling eyes would just swallow her up and keep her safe until nothing could ever touch her again. She felt herself move without telling her body what to do, sliding to her knees on the ground and hugging him tightly around his chest, burying her face against the leather of his catsuit. She didn't say anything, she didn't have words for what she was feeling right then, but she knew she just… needed this right then.

Momentarily startled, Cat Noir stiffened as Marinette hugged him - sweet Marinette would normally tease him, just a little, sort of like his Lady, but not quite as sternly. Instead, here she was melding against him, pressing all of her warmth to him, and he swore he heard a small sigh escape her when he finally hugged her back, one clawed hand running up the back of her neck and under her hair, gently combing through it to soothe her, the other resting against the small of her back.

The pair sat like that, just for a few moments, before Marinette gently pulled away, wiping her eyes which seemed to be leaking fresh tears again. She rolled herself backwards a little so that she could extend her injured leg out between them, and sniffled against her hand before looking at him, her eyes slightly shimmering from the thin layer of tears that coated them. "I'm sorry," she looked down at her hands and twiddled her fingers nervously, "I'm not sure what came over me I just… really needed that."

Cat Noir rubbed the back of his neck, smiling as he felt his heart thump a little erratically in his chest, "It's okay," he leaned towards her with a teasing grin plastered back on his face, "You should probably keep it a secret from that boy that you like though, imagine what he would think of himself if he knew that you had thrown yourself all over the famous Cat Noir." He winked at her and she scowled a little, thumping him on the shoulder lightly before they both laughed softly. God her laugh was so sweet - he wanted to listen to it forever - but when she grew quiet again he frowned. "Is something wrong, Princess?"

Marinette picked at her boot, shaking her head and smiling at him - the classic Marinette smile, all pleasantries and happiness, but he could see something behind the smile trying to peek out - like a secret that she didn't quite want to keep to herself. "Nothing for you to worry about, just the same-old-same-old for me, I guess."

"You shouldn't keep it in," he laid his hand on top of hers gently, "If something is bothering you, you can tell me. Cat's Honor I won't tell another living soul." He crossed his chest with his own clawed hand, then made a small saluting gesture.

Marinette hesitated. What if Cat Noir was someone she knew? He had said that he heard about her injury from a friend - what if he was someone from her class? Or from her school? Did one of her classmates know the identity of Cat Noir and had told him about her, or had he witnessed it himself? She chewed nervously at her lip for a moment, then shook her head again, "It's nothing, really," she smiled brightly, but didn't make eye contact with him to avoid giving her lie away. "I'm fine,"

"You didn't seem so fine when I got here," he reached out and grasped her chin between his thumb and index finger, "Why were you crying?"

Marinette sighed, curling her knees up to her chest and resting her head on them, "Frustration - mostly. Clumsy Marinette fell down and hurt herself again. Clumsy Marinette barreled right through someone and took them down with her. Clumsy Marinette couldn't get herself home. Clumsy Marinette couldn't open her own door. Clumsy Marinette couldn't walk upstairs by herself. Clumsy Marinette ruined everyone's good time at the ice rink…" she hugged her knees tighter, careful not to put her foot in too awkward of a position. "Clumsy Marinette fractured her ankle and gets to be Clumsier Marinette on crutches for several weeks. Clumsy Marinette can't even treat her own injuries because she'll probably fracture her other ankle in the process." she turned her head to the side, looking at him, "Sorry Cat Noir, I just had a really bad day - I don't mean to put it all off on you like this…"

"I'm the one who asked," he replied softly, cocking his head to the side so that their eyes were even, "And as the one who asked, I think I have a right to refute some of those _purr_ endous points you put against yourself."

Marinette wrinkled her nose and cringed, "Please no more ' _clawful'_ puns like that one - they make my concussion hurt."

He snickered, then leaned his own head against one knee, leaving the other leg outstretched beside her. He reached out, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, "Do you know what I think?" When she shook her head he continued, "I think that… Beautiful Marinette has a problem walking on her own two feet - big deal, she has plenty of friends with less-clumsy feet that will help her back up when she falls down. Beautiful Marinette might have bumped into someone, but I know that she also didn't cause any serious harm to anyone. Beautiful Marinette might not be able to do a lot of things on her own right now, but I would guarantee that she has friends and family that would drop everything to come and help her out no matter what situation she found herself in - good or bad. Beautiful Marinette didn't ruin anyone's good time - because she was there and even if something goes wrong she still makes the room brighter just by existing within it. And," he paused to scoot closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and hugging her gently from the side, "Beautiful Marinette might not be at her best right now, but she'll get back there - and she'll go back to how she always has been - the most selfless, sweet, caring person in the world."

Marinette scoffed a little, "You're such a flirt, Cat Noir," she smiled as she slipped away from him, pulling herself slowly back up into her chair, staring firmly at the floor as she sighed. "Besides, you don't know anything about me - you're a superhero and we've talked, but you don't-"

"But I do." He smiled, crawling towards her, his claws clicking lightly against her floor, "I don't need to know you personally to see that you are amazing, Princess." He lifted her chin so that their eyes were locked, then gently pecked her cheek, "You always have been."

Without meaning to, Marinette let out a shuddering breath and immediately pulled herself away, a deep crimson blush blooming across both cheeks, "Th-thank you… Cat Noir," she nervously played with a strand of hair, once again avoiding making eye contact with him. "For everything, you know." Her heart was hammering so loudly that she could her it in her ears, feel it pulsing through every bit of her.

"Any time, Princess."

They sat together quietly for much of the night, occasionally joking, sometimes just staring out the window and enjoying each other's company. At some point Marinette moved back to the floor to sit next to Cat Noir and leaned against his shoulder, just enough to sit comfortably as he leaned back on his palms and told her stories of his heroism - the incorrect recollections making her laugh in some instances, and he would laugh too, admitting that 'maybe Ladybug would have a different side of the story' when he was obviously trying to make himself sound cooler in the story than he actually was at the time of whatever he was describing. When he laughed Marinette would close her eyes, her ear resting against his shoulder in such a way that she could just hear the laugh rumble through him, and she smiled, it was a comforting sound, and one she wouldn't mind hearing more of.

When the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, Cat Noir heard his ring give a soft beep and glanced down - that made sense, he'd been here for awhile, and needed to get back before his absence was noticed anyways. He cast a sideways glance at Marinette to find her fast asleep as she lay against him, her head laying so that she was nearly nestled into the crook of his neck. She looked so serene - a massive change from the look he'd seen on her face when he arrived. His eyes scanned her face, from the slight poof of bangs that hung over her face, to her delicate eyelashes that were long enough to just brush the apples of her cheeks, to her lips - slightly parted with the ghost of a smile still turning their corners. He just stared for awhile, taking in all of her features, wanting to imprint this memory into every corner of his mind as he reached and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

After a moment, he shifted, just slightly, so that she fell against his chest, then gingerly picked her up, careful not to wake her. With little effort, he cradled her in his arms and ascended to her bed, nestling her down into her pillows. He brushed the hair away from her face and took in more of her features, the gentle curve of her jawline, the way her cheekbones protruded just slightly and cast their own tiny shadows on her face, the way her eyes fluttered around as they gazed at an unseen dream. He ran his fingers gently down her cheek, unable to pull himself away as he watched her, and felt his heart patter to a stop when she shifted, turning her head against his palm and nuzzling against it slightly.

"Nn... Adrien…" she mumbled in her sleep.

He froze. Did she know? Had he said something to give himself away? She would probably be furious if she had figured it out, all the times he'd left her in the middle of an akuma attack to turn into Cat Noir. Furious and Marinette weren't usually words he could put together in a sentence, but if there was a time for her to be mad it'd be at this situation. He stroked his thumb across her cheek and sighed, she'd have called him out already though if she was angry with him - not sit and… He could still faintly feel the warmth of her head on his shoulder and sighed, slipping his hand out from under her. She was probably just having a dream about today's events.

He shook his head and reached up, pushing the trap door open and beginning to climb out, but stopped when he felt a tug on his tail. He glanced down and Marinette was looking at him through half-lidded, sleep-cogged eyes.

"Thank you," she murmured sleepily, smiling as her eyelids fluttered gently, sleep calling out to her once more.

Before she could fall fully back to sleep, he climbed back down and knelt over her, intending to kiss her on the cheek, but she beat him to the punch, gently placing her hand on his cheek and sitting up just enough that she could lightly brush her lips against his own. He felt his heart stop for the fraction of a second that their lips made contact, and, even after she had settled back down against her pillows and dozed back into her dreamland, he still wasn't quite sure that he could feel it beating again.

He stared at her, wide-eyed, until his ring beeped again, startling him out if his stupor. He ascended through the trap door, glancing back to whisper, "Good night, Princess."

And off into the breaking dawn he went.

 **xxx**

 **This was originally going to be two parts, but I would have needed to rewrite the beginning of the second half. Ah well, que sera sera.**


	4. Chapter 4

Marinette awoke in a haze, blinking blearily around her room, half-confused, half-searching for… something. She rubbed one eye as she sat up, then stopped and frowned as she realized she was alone. She looked… disappointed.

Tikki watched her from across the room for a moment, shaking her head before she flitted over to her, "Good morning, Marinette!" She squeaked, trying to brighten the injured girls spirits. "It's Saturday! Should we do something fun today? Maybe we can play video games or watch some movies?"

"How are you," Marinette stretched, flinching a little as her shoulders stung and protested against the wide movement, yawning, "doing this morning?"

"You and Cat Noir kept me up aaaaall night with your talking," she teased, shaking her head. "He's all trouble, coming over so late at night. I'm going to have to disapprove of him." Tikki shook her head sternly, crossing her small arms across herself.

Marinette poked her kwami in the belly, making her giggle, and smiled, "He was just here to keep me company," she scratched at her head and sighed, "It was kind of weird to see him… like that, though."

"You mean flirting with you when you're not Ladybug?"

"Cat Noir flirts with everyone," Marinette protested as she gently tried to climb down from her bed by herself. "I'm pretty sure he was even flirting with Rena Rouge right in front of me, so that's pretty telling of his character in that department."

"Yeah, but he doesn't flirt like _that_ with everyone,"

Marinette successfully made it to the floor and slowly made her way to her computer, "Sure he does, he flirted with _me_ the first time he met me, even though he was supposed to be helping Ladybug by protecting me. If that doesn't say a lot, I don't know what does." She shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about his late-night visit and the… admittedly odd position they found themselves in as the night went on.

She took what hair had remained tied up out of the pigtails and began to quietly brush her hair, trying to detangle it before she attempted a shower for the day.

"He called you beautiful," Tikki commented, coming over to rest on Marinette's desk, "Since when does he do that for all the girls?"

Marinette blushed, "I-I think you're making more out of this than what it actually was, Tikki," she idly twirled a strand of hair around her finger, the blush growing a little darker as she spoke next. "He heard I was hurt and wanted to see if I was okay, and then he… wanted to make sure I was okay, you know, emotionally. He was just being his usual friendly, flirty self. Maybe a little more intense than usual but…"

"You kissed him when he left."

Marinette practically threw her hairbrush as she slammed her hand down on her desk, her entire face looking akin to a tomato as she slapped her free hand over her mouth. She stared at her desk, eyes wide, as the memory flashed back through her mind.

"I-"

"You kissed him on the mouth."

She got up so quickly that she forgot to take measures to not jostle her foot and immediately crumpled to the floor. Ignoring the pain, she covered her face with her hands and groaned into her palms, "Why did I do that!?" She flopped backwards on the floor and tried to smother herself with her hands - if she did it right she wouldn't have to worry about looking like a complete and total idiot like this again, she just needed the right leverage on herself and poof it would be the end of Marinette the stupid idiot!

"It's okay, Marinette - you were lonely and he was there. Naturally you'd gravitate towards him even though you love Adrien." Tikki put her tiny hand on Marinette's and patted it sympathetically, "It's nothing to get upset about."

Marinette sighed and stared up at her ceiling, shaking her head, "I don't… I'm not sure that's it Tikki." She sat up, shaking her head firmly, "No, it was definitely something else. I still… feel it, you know?" She put a hand over her heart and continued shaking her head as she sighed again, "I think I just… need a hot bath to think about this."

Crawling to her chair, she used it to steady herself so that she could get back on her feet and hobble to the bathroom. Tikki could hear the water start and the sound of plastic unwrapping. Good - Marinette had remembered that she can't just dunk her foot in the water. Tikki settled in front of the computer to wait out Marinette's bath of intense feelings, she didn't want her unintentional bias towards the situation - or her additional knowledge therein - to interfere with what Marinette thought and felt for and about herself.

 **xxx**

Adrien hadn't slept. He tried, no doubt about that, but after tumbling through his window and detransforming, laying in bed had proved fruitless for him. He couldn't stop thinking about Marinette. He knew from Nino that she liked a guy, but he thought it was someone from their class like Nathaniel or Kim - not _Cat Noir._ Plagg had spent some the night protesting Adrien's grumbled confusion about the entire night in her room, eventually giving up and going to sleep, leaving Adrien to stare up at his ceiling and just… wonder.

Wait, but maybe she didn't like Cat Noir. Maybe he was right and she had figured it out - but that would mean that she had kissed him because she knew he was… himself. He shook his head, that didn't sound quite right. Marinette was just a friend, and as far as he was aware hadn't ever expressed any feelings of anything more towards him. Sure, she was quiet and stuttery and nervous around him, but she didn't _like_ him like that. Or did she?

"Hey Plagg?"

"Sleeping."

"I have a serious question and I'm struggling for the answer. If Marinette kissed me because she figured out who I am, then does that mean she likes me? Or am I overthinking it and she kissed me because she likes Cat Noir?"

"Still sleeping." The kwami grumbled and tried to bury his face under his pillow. "Not listening."

"Either way… I should really talk to her because I…" he hesitated on his next words, feeling them mull around in his brain. The phrasing made him… uncomfortable? "She's just a friend. I don't like her like that. And besides, there's Ladybug…" he rolled off of his bed and began pacing, he'd done a lot of that when he got home too. At some point he'd wear a hole in the floor and fall straight through to the parlor if he kept it up. "What if she kissed Cat Noir because she was dreaming about _me_ and thought I looked like me enough? I don't think that's it… It has to be that she likes Cat Noir. I don't know how to let her down easily from this without hurting her… But I also…" he paused, confused feelings stirring up a storm in his heart. "I…" he felt a twinge in his heart, "I'm very… confused. Plagg what should I do?"

"Sleep. You should sleep."

"I need to go see her." He glanced down at himself, "But… probably not as Adrien. Plagg-!"

"Why won't you let me have this," his kwami whined softly from the pillow he'd now completely crawled under.

"Claws out!"

 **xxx**

Marinette sighed as she sank down to her chin in the water, letting the heat and steam surround her as she reviewed the events of the previous day.

Someone had tried to trip her, why she still didn't know. In the process she had fractured her ankle, gotten a minor concussion, scratched up her back, and one of her wrists was starting to ache if she bent it a certain way but she tried to not bend it like that so that she could ignore it until it became an actual issue for her. She had also bowled straight through Adrien who then patched her up and took her to the hospital, and then gave her a ride home at which point she thoroughly and mercilessly em arrassed herself before he… She swallowed the lump in her throat, remembering the gentle tingle of his fingers stroking across her shoulder. And then he left and Cat Noir came by to… she tried not to think about the word snuggle but not thinking about it caused her to think about it more. After which point he carried her to bed and at some point before he left she kissed him.

That about summed it up clearly for her. Yep. She nearly killed Adrien and then he touched her bare shoulder and then she cuddled with and kissed Cat Noir.

"That's it," she said firmly, "I'm drowning myself."

 **xxx**

 **Shorty - sorry.**


	5. Chapter 5

Cat Noir landed softly on the balcony and rapped his knuckles lightly against the trap door, nervously rocking from heel to toe on his feet. When he got no response he knocked again, then crouched and opened the door just a crack to peek inside.

"Hm. She should probably be locking this when she's not around," he mumbled to himself. "But it's not like she could have gone very far. Maybe she went downstairs?" He hopped down into her room and looked around. The computer was softly playing some kind of music video, but no sign of Marinette being around to listen to it. It was around that time that a this accompanied with a small shriek came from the other side of the room. Ah. She was in the bathroom. He blushed and was about to climb back out and pretend he hadn't been there when he heard her call out for someone.

"Tikki?" She sounded like she was frustrated and whining. "Tikki, I fell. The floor is wet and I can't get-" there was a squeak like she slipped on something, and then a small growl of pain from her as she apparently hit the floor again "… I'm kind of stuck here." She waited a beat, but when whoever or whatever she was calling for didn't come to her aid, she called out again, "Tikki? If you can hear me could you uh… Is there any way you could slip my phone under the door? Maybe I can call Alya for some help…"

Cat Noir blushed beneath his mask and looked around the room, his eyes scanning to try and locate her phone, but it didn't seem to be anywhere in plain sight. He overturned some notebooks and papers on her desk but still couldn't find it, and eventually he had to make a decision: open the door and come to her aid or call Alya himself and leave her there until the other was able to get here.

Cat Noir gently knocked on the bathroom door and cleared his throat, as he opened it just a crack and stuck his hand in, waving slightly, "Marinette?"

"Cat Noir! D-Don't come in!" She quickly, or as quickly as she could, scrambled out of any kind of view of the door and Cat Noir could her a rustling like she'd grabbed some kind of cloth. His blush darkened. "What are you d-doing here?"

"I came by to check on you… I heard you fall and figured you could use a helping paw, but if you'd prefer I can leave you sitting on the floor?"

There was a pause of considerable length while she considered the ramifications of being left to sit on the floor versus… the alternative.

"I'm fine with the floor," Is what she wanted to say, but she couldn't find words to give him a response in any sense of the word.

" _Purr_ incess?" He sing-songed from outside the door, "If I don't get an answer I may just take your rescue into my own hands…" he started to push the door open wider.

"Okay! Okay! Just… there's a scarf… in the closet. P-put it on like a blindfold. And no peeking!"

"I wouldn't _dream_ of it," he sauntered to the closet, leaving the bathroom door open and hearing her sigh in frustration as she wondered how she'd gotten herself into this. He pulled the small silken scarf off of a hanger and ran his hand across it to straighten it out before folding it in half and gently securing it around his head. He slid his hand along the wall as he walked back, only stopping when he felt the door give way a little to his touch.

"Your Knight in shining silky blindfold is here, Princess," he purred through the crack in the door in a teasing tone.

"C-come in."

He pushed the door all the way open, hearing it thump gently against the wall, and felt his way into the room, "You know, this sounded fun at first but now this is seeming a little more difficult."

"Is kitty throwing in the towel so soon?"

"Speaking of towels," he said as his hands ran along a small pile of towels next to the sink, "Should I pass you one?"

There was a brief silence, followed by the smallest, softest, "Yes…" known to man.

He turned towards her voice, towel in-hand, and took a hesitant step, holding it out. It took a second before he felt her gently tug at it from somewhere just below him on the floor. He heard some light movements as she presumably wrapped the towel around herself, then a rustling, and as he reached his hand out in offer to her, he smiled when her small hand slid slowly into his grasp.

He moved then, intending to pick her up, but was stopped when she slapped at his other hand, "No, wait - j-just help me up please…" if there was an audible sound for blushing, he would have heard it then as Marinette frantically tried to keep him from picking her up, a gesture that - while kind - would have had him cradling her entirely-bare legs and barely-towel-covered body against him. She'd rather struggle to walk beside him, thank you.

She clasped her towel with one hand and held onto him with the other as he carefully pulled her up. He slipped a hand around her waist to keep her upright, then used the other to guide himself forward and helped her hobble out of the bathroom.

She pulled away from him once they were clear of the slick floor and made her way to the closet so that she could grab some clothes.

Cat Noir slid his hand along the wall, guiding himself to her little chaise lounge and plopped into it, sitting cross-legged on the cushion. "So," he sighed, idly jingling the bell around his neck while he waited for her to get dressed. "When you're done… can we talk?" He heard her make an uncomfortable sound and then a little 'mhm' followed it.

He glanced in her direction. Through the blindfold, he could just barely make out the curve of her body against the light shining in from the windows. It was hazy, almost indistinguishable from the other vague shapes of the room, but it was enough so that Cat Noir felt his cheeks practically glow and he had to look down at the floor so that he remembered to breathe again and focus on why he came here in the first place.

 **xxx**

Dressed, dry, and uncomfortable, Marinette joined Cat Noir on the chaise. She was sitting closely enough that their hips just barely touched and she could feel the heat from his body as he sat beside her.

"So,"

"So…" Marinette chewed her lip nervously.

"About last night-"

"About last night-"

They both paused and laughed softly, easing some of the tension between them.

"Ladies first?" Cat Noir offered.

Marinette's sighed softly, "Right…" she steeled herself against her every nervous impulse and swallowed the lump in her throat, "Last night was… a mistake."

There was a long pause in which they both sighed, the sound was like they both felt a hard rejection come down on top of them, the tone of the room shifted and mutated with the words and unconsciously they both shifted and moved a little further apart.

"I never should have… I mean…" she curled her hands into fists and then unballed them over and over so that she could keep her focus on speaking calmly despite the pricking she felt in the back of her eyes. "I-I… I was tired. And I was grateful for all of your help… and I didn't think about my actions. I just knew I wanted t-to thank you. I never should have…" a small sob managed to slip past her lips. It felt like her heart was screaming inside of her chest. She'd never felt particularly _strong_ feelings for Cat Noir, but here and now confronting what she'd done felt like she was making a whole new mistake on top of last nights. "Y-you and I… I know we're j-just friends," she couldn't stop them - tears were starting to fall freely and she was thankful that Cat Noir seemed content to have not removed his blindfold yet. "I-if we're even that now… if I didn't r-ruin it b-because I'm a-an idiot and d-did something so stupid. And I know you love Ladybug - what I did was so careless and stupid and I s-shouldn't have ever ever done that. I didn't think a-and I ups-set you," she was starting to lose herself to the building sobs in her chest. Her lap was becoming spattered with tears that she tried futilely to wipe away before they could cascade down her cheeks.

"Why do you do that?"

She flinched, glancing over at him. He was looking in her direction, but he still had the blindfold on. His ears were laid back in what appeared to be annoyance and he had a frown on his face. She didn't like that - the sight of that disapproving frown on her kitty's face. _**Her**_ _kitty's face?_

"Why do you put yourself down so much? So you kissed me - so what? That doesn't make you stupid. That doesn't make you careless or thoughtless or anything like that. Marinette you are one of the kindest, strongest, most amazing girls I know. You have a good heart, and you're smart and beautiful and you always think of what you can do for other people, so why can't you see that in yourself?"

Marinette sniffled and didn't respond, covering her mouth with one hand as she tried not to let the sobs escape - it was a battle, his kind words had prompted the sobs to fight harder for their freedom. A small one eeked out before she could stop it and she clasped her hand down harder, quite literally biting her own tongue and curling her lips together to try and stop the menagerie of others that threatened to follow after it.

Cat Noir reached up behind his head and slowly loosened the blindfold. As it slipped, first one side then the other, off his face and dangled around his neck, he got his first look at Marinette since they started talking. She was shuddering, her eyes dead-locked straight forward at the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks in near-waterfalls. Her hand was clamped so tightly over he own mouth that he could just see the skin beneath turning while from the pressure. He hesitated, but something stronger than his hesitation kicked in when he saw her shoulders tremble with a lurking sob.

"Marinette," he said softly. She darted her eyes to him like a frightened rabbit and his heart thudded to a stop in his chest as she scanned his face, her deep-blue eyes searching until she met his own. She opened her mouth to speak behind her hand, but no words came out - just a soft sob that caused her to immediately turn 180 degrees away from him to hide herself. "Marinette, look at me, please." She didn't. He slid to the floor and crawled around to her other side. This was the second - third? - time he'd seen her cry in less than a day and this time it was all his fault. People always make comments like _'you're beautiful when you cry'_ but what kind of thoughtless commentary was that? Was it meant to be a compliment? Marinette's crying wasn't beautiful - it was soul-crushing. It made him want to cry with her. She was so nervous and upset that she wouldn't even meet his eyes. He cupped her face and tilted her head to look at him, but her eyes stayed firmly rooted on some distant corner of the room as she tried to avoid him. "Marinette," he said softly, his eyes pleading for her to stop crying - stop breaking his heart - stop making him want to just… try to take all of her fear and apprehension into himself so that she would be free of it.

"Marinette," he moved closer to her, his body nearly pressing against her legs as he scooted towards the chaise. "Marinette, just look at me." He swiped a finger gently across her cheek, trying to wipe away her tears. "You're not stupid, you didn't mess anything up between us…" he spoke softly, still running his thumb gently back and forth over her cheek, just skating the surface of her porcelain skin as he moved closer again, now lightly pressed against her. "Marinette…" he moved without thinking, lifting himself to a kneeling position as he inched towards her and captured her lips with his own.

Marinette felt her whole body freeze in place. Her breath hitched and she wanted to yank herself away, but he was so warm - so comforting… so… She felt herself melt and push back into the kiss, her hands gripping the fabric of her own jeans first, then moving to tug against his leather catsuit before she could stop them. The kiss felt like it lasted seconds, minutes, days, years - and then Cat Noir pulled away.

"I…" Cat Noir had only moved a breaths distance from her - he looked unsure at first, then he met her gaze and found himself lunging into a second kiss, his hands still cupped around either side of her face as they both moved.

The kiss was fire, passion, raw energy - neither wanted to breathe for fear of breaking apart if they did, but the breaths came anyways - frantic and gasping and halting as the simple kiss morphed and became something so strong that they both were consumed by it - the kiss was a living entity all it's own and they couldn't escape it, they didn't want to.

Marinette's found herself falling backwards, pulling Cat Noir on top of her, her hands beginning to roam from his chest to his broad shoulders, up the back of his neck and into his hair. She felt him reciprocate, his hands sliding from her cheeks to her neck, her shoulders, her hips. He pressed his body to hers, pulling her closer as their tongues began to dance a samba without knowing all the steps.

Cat Noir suddenly became aware of the pounding in his own chest - hyperaware of it even, and stopped himself before he did anything more that he'd regret. He yanked himself away from the kiss, even though his very soul protested against it he pulled away, hovering over her and watching her eyes slowly open to meet his. "I…" he gulped. He shouldn't have done that - shouldn't be doing _this._ But, god, everything felt so right about it. The way her lips had just perfectly melded against his own, the feel of her body pressed against him, her hands in his hair. Everything felt so right. But he…

"I have to go." He said the words before he had thought them through, and moved before she had a chance to respond. She wasn't even sitting up by the time he had pulled himself away from her and ascended onto the balcony.

 **xxx**

 **Look.**

 **I know the Marichat fandom is known for being the** ** _sin_** **fandom.**

 **I also know I'm not helping to get away from that label.**

 **And I'm 100% okay with that.**


	6. Chapter 6

"I just don't know what to do anymore, Alya. I'm just… confused."

It was more than a week later, Marinette looked tired and stressed as she sat across the room from Alya, a concerned look crossing the redheads face as she took in the appearance of her best friend.

Meanwhile, Cat Noir perched on the edge of the balcony, listening as their voices floated up to him through the trap door that he'd propped partially open using a small rock. Enough of a crack to hear more clearly, not enough so that it wasn't noticeably open.

"Girl you need to get yourself together. It has been a week - so what? Shouldn't you focus your sights _elsewhere_ since it's clearly not going to work out between you?"

Marinette shook her head and looked down, sighing, "That's just the problem. He hasn't visited me once. I don't know what I might've done to… upset him, but he hasn't even called to see how I'm doing. Do you think he's mad at me?"

"Well, it has been a busy week at school - and I heard him say he had to go straight home after school multiple times. I don't know if he's got something going on with him, but it seems like he's pretty busy. Everyone seems to be pretty caught up with their own stuff the past few days, same reason I wasn't able to come see you until now."

"Look, just give Adrien _and_ Cat Noir some space - whichever one doesn't come around isn't worth your time worrying over anymore, that's all I'm saying."

"Y-yeah… I guess you're right."

Cat Noir's ears twitched at the double name-drop on his behalf. He could understand why they had mentioned Cat Noir - but why Adrien? _Oh. I guess I've been busy with…_ he looked around the balcony where he'd been visiting every day to try and convince himself to go talk to Marinette. _And I haven't visited her since her since…_ he groaned and he put his head in his hands. "I am a special kind of stupid." He plopped himself down into a sitting position and scratched at his head in annoyance, a scowl appearing on his face. He muttered to himself and grumbled at his own sheer ignorance to the situation.

The trapdoor squeaked open, startling the cat-themed superhero enough so that he jumped backwards, flipped over himself and pounced up onto the railing. He had been grumbling loud enough for them to hear and Alya had come to investigate, Cat Noir could hear Marinette softly ask what was up there, but Alya didn't give her an answer about it.

"Marinette, gimme a second before you come up here. 'Kay?" Alya glared at Cat Noir as she hoisted herself up onto the balcony, letting the trapdoor clatter noisily shut behind her. "Cat Noir." She spat his name in a sort of greeting.

"Uh, hi Alya," Cat Noir nervously scratched at his ear, avoiding eye contact with the redhead.

"What are you doing here?"

"I… came to see Marinette."

"Funny way to do that, considering you were sitting up here talking to yourself for god-knows how long instead of coming inside where Marinette is. Or was the idea for you to see her but not for her to see you?"

"I-"

"You do know she hasn't slept or eaten in days?"

"What?" If he had turned his head towards her any faster, he might've given himself whiplash.

"She thinks you and… someone else both hate her. She's been crying a lot, from what I can tell, she isn't sleeping or eating properly, and I'm almost certain she hasn't even _left her own bedroom_ except to bathe."

"I-I…"

"You you are an idiot idiot." If she could glare any harder she'd have disintegrated him on the spot. "If you're not going to be brave enough to go down there and look her in the eyes to tell her why you ran off, or why you haven't been back here then you need to leave. Now."

"I-"

"Neither she nor I want to hear any excuses. You ran off like a coward after _you_ _kissed her_ and now you're lurking up here like a creep and leaving her to sit in her room wondering _what is wrong with_ _ **her**_. You either March your tail in there and _talk_ to her, or you get out of here." Alya looked like she was about to hit him - oddly enough she reminded him a lot of Rena Rouge in that moment: fierce and bold and ready to kick him in the backside at the drop of a hat. "Well?" She put her hands on her hips, "Are you coming inside or are you going to run off, pussycat?"

Cat Noir scrambled off of the railing and smiled sheepishly, stepping towards her, "You see right through me Alya," he purred, kneeling to open the hatch. He felt a light smack on the back of his head from the girl before he pounced down onto Marinette's bed.

"Alya, is everything ok-" Marinette spun around in her chair to look at who she thought was her friend jumping back down into the room, then stopped, her lips still moving slightly to finish the unsaid sentence.

"Hey, Marinette," Cat Noir waved slightly, averting his eyes as he bit his lip nervously, "Alya… told me I should come down and uh…" he climbed down from her bed onto the floor in front of her. "Listen about the other day-"

Marinette moved faster than he'd expected on her bum leg, and before he could process what was happening she had marched up and slapped him firmly on the face. There were tears in the corners of her eyes and her face was red with anger, but that faded quickly when she realized what she'd just done. She dropped her shaking hand to her side and looked down at the floor.

"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled, then sniffled and turned away, wrapping her arms around herself, "I don't know why I…"

"It's okay." He shrugged, "You're mad at me, I get it."

Alya popped back down into the room and climbed down to them, looking between the two. She sighed and pressed her thumb against her temple, "You both are ridiculous." She grabbed Cat Noir by the ear, then did the same with Marinette, and dragged them towards the chaise lounge. "Sit. Talk."

Cat Noir rubbed at his ear despite there not being any pain from being grabbed, and he saw Marinette do the same as she winced from the pinch. They both sat down awkwardly at either end of the small lounge.

"Talk!" Alya was getting frustrated as she threw her hands up, "Like normal people!" She stormed off downstairs to give them a little privacy.

After several minutes of silence and the pair glancing at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking, Cat Noir finally spoke.

"She's a good friend."

Marinette nodded, "She's just… looking out for me."

"Your parents are still out of town?"

Marinette nodded, "They know about," she gestured at her foot, "But I told them not to worry about me…"

Cat Noir tilted his head, looking at her. She was slightly hunched over, probably from exhaustion, and her eyes were red and puffy. Her hair was slightly messy, half-tied in a small bun at the back of her head, while several strands were just free to hang in little tendrils around her face and ears. How had she gotten so much smaller in a week?

"Maybe they should. Have you seen yourself lately?"

"I'm 90% bruise right now, but that's not something to wor-"

"I'm not talking about the bruises and scrapes. I mean how you haven't been eating. Haven't been sleeping. When was the last time you even left this room?"

"Please don't sit here and lecture me about this," she growled slightly, scowling. He didn't like seeing that scowl on her face - it muddled up her beautiful features.

"I'm not lecturing," he shook his head, "I'm just… commenting."

"Comment noted," She spat.

"You're still mad."

"What else should I be?" She half turned her body away from him, "You showed up here uninvited, kissed me, and then ran away and didn't come back. Should I be happy that you suddenly turned up again out of the blue? Should I throw myself at you and beg for you to kiss me again? Should I profess my gratitude for you gracing me with your presence?"

"Marinette, I-"

"I don't want to hear it, Cat Noir. I get it, you love Ladybug - you don't need to keep showing up here just to remind me of that. I got the message. You can leave, you don't have to sit here and talk feelings with me. Just leave me alone." She felt a little guilt at sending the feline hero away on the premise that he didn't love 'her' but an entirely different person - which wasn't entirely a lie, she guessed, Ladybug _was_ a different person. Different from her anyways. Ladybug was brave and heroic - and she was just Marinette.

"I'm not leaving." He snapped her out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"Well, for one thing I think Alya would track me down and kill me if I did," he half-smiled at her even though she wasn't looking in his direction. "But for another thing… I didn't run because I'm in love with Ladybug. Well, I did, but that's not the entire reason."

Marinette turned just enough to look at him through her eyelashes, "Then what was?"

"Because you're… you."

Marinette inhaled deeply and stood up, hugging herself, "I see," her voice was thick with sadness and… something else that Cat Noir couldn't place. "Thank you for explaining it to me." He could hear the tears in her voice, "If that's all you have to say then you c-can g-"

"I'm not done."

Marinette remained standing, turning her back to him. He could see her shoulders shaking a little as she tried to contain herself.

"I ran because you're you… and I'm me," he stood up as well, stepping towards her. "And sometimes - a lot of times - me being me would ruin you."

"Ruin me?" she repeated, mostly to herself.

He stepped closer, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her backwards against his body, perching his head on her shoulder and nuzzling lightly against her neck. He could just make out the faint smell of lavender on her skin as he placed a soft, gentle kiss on her shoulder. "I'm not just Cat Noir," he placed another kiss alongside the first one, "I'm _me_ too, and _me_ isn't someone that would do you any good."

Marinette shuddered, "I don't believe that," she shook her head. "Not for a second. There's much worse people out there that could be a lot more awful than whoever is under that mask."

"And if there's not?"

"There is."

She turned in his arms to face him, blushing when she processed how close his face was to her own. "I don't think there's a person in the world that could be under there," she placed a hand on his cheek and ran a finger along the edge of his mask, "that could be so bad."

"And if you're wrong about that?"

"I'm not." She lifted her arms and put them up around his neck, clasping her fingers together and shaking her head. "You protect and save Paris every day… what kind of person could you possibly be while doing that if not a good one?"

He pressed his forehead against hers and nuzzled, purring softly. They both closed their eyes, just taking a minute to enjoy the closeness and comfort of their bodies pressed together like this.

After a moment, they opened their eyes and stared at each other. Marinette's eyes were still shimmering with tears, and Cat Noir could see a question burning behind them. "What's wrong, Princess?"

"I…" Marinette looked away from him, then slowly moved away, "What about Ladybug?"

"What about Ladybug?"

"You still love her." Again she felt the guilt put in her stomach.

"Yeah…" he pulled her close again and kissed her forehead softly, "But I think…" he paused, "I think I can let that go."

Marinette frowned, shaking her head, "You shouldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because-" Marinette stopped, glancing over his shoulder at Tikki. She expected her to be shaking her head or warning her not to tell him, but the kwami actually nodded at her. They both knew the secret would get out eventually and someone would end up hurt afterwards - it was best to just… rip the band-aid off right now and get it over with. "Because there's something you don't know." Marinette continued looking past him until he seemed to get the hint.

Cat Noir cocked his head and turned, following her gaze behind him. It took him a solid minute to process the sight of the little red kwami hovering just over his shoulder, and without entirely meaning to he let go of Marinette completely. He froze up, staring at Tikki quietly for a long time before breathing a soft, "Oh."


	7. Chapter 7

"So… yeah. Cat Noir, this is Tikki. She's-"

"Your kwami. She's _Ladybug's_ kwami. You're…" he looked pale. He slowly made his way back to the chaise, letting go of Marinette completely, and sat down. "When you fell the other day - you were calling for Tikki. I should have… I should have started putting that together then but I…" he looked down at his clawed hands and flexed them as he tried to keep his voice steady. "So all this time when I'd come to you to talk about Ladybug…"

Marinette sat down in her computer chair and nodded a little, "I… yeah."

"And this is why… Ladybug - you - haven't been out on patrol recently." He glanced up just enough to see her foot, "But couldn't you… Miraculous yourself better?"

Marinette shook her head, "It doesn't work like that. I mean, I don't think it does, anyways. I wasn't hurt in a fight, so my powers probably wouldn't… do anything."

There was a long silence between them as Cat Noir's thoughts raced in an endless stream. He looked upset, angry even.

"Back then. When I… when I invited you to that rooftop surprise. When I showed you, Marinette, before Ladybug finally came. Was your reaction genuine?"

"...yes. Everything you'd set up was truly beautiful."

"The guy you - that Ladybug - told me she liked. Was he the one that had broken your heart that night?"

Marinette looked down, sighing, "Yes, he was."

"And you still love him?"

"I…" she hesitated. She definitely had feelings for Cat Noir - that was undeniable, but did she still love Adrien? Would she still swoon at his every word to her? At his touch? "I don't know."

He didn't really want the answer, he was mentally going through a list of their classmates trying to figure out who Marinette could possibly love, but names were jumbling themselves together - and what if he wasn't in their class? What if it was someone at the school that wasn't in their class? Or a friend of the family? Could it have been Luka? But, no, Marinette didn't know Luka back then when Ladybug first told him about her interest in someone. Or did she?

"Who is he?"

"What?"

"The person that you - that Ladybug - turned me down for, that you can't let go of. Who is he?"

"I…" she looked up at him, his face was slightly red and he looked like he was on the edge of shouting, so she weighed her options mentally before she spoke. "I shouldn't tell you. You're upset right now, you might-"

"Might what? Go pick a fight with him?" He stood up, marching over to her as he spoke. "Pull him aside and threaten him if he tries to touch my Princess?"

"N-No it's just…"

"Who is he."

"Cat Noir I-"

"Just give me a name."

"No," she looked down, gulping, "I don't want you to…"

"I just want to know," He said as he pulled her up from her chair and put a finger under her chin, tilting her head up so that they could look each other in the eye. "Do I seem like I'd start trouble with some random guy just because I'm in love with you?"

Marinette's breath hitched. That's right - if he was in love with Ladybug then… "Y-You," she swallowed hard. "You love Ladybug." she said firmly, "You love the brave, strong, confident defender of Paris. You don't _**love**_ me. I'm just Marinette."

Cat Noir scoffed, keeping his hold on her chin so that she would be forced to look him in the eyes as he spoke. His tone was much more even than it had been just seconds ago, " _Just_ Marinette?" He shook his head, sighing, his usual suave Cat Noir smile finally appearing on his face, "There's no such thing as _just Marinette_. Ladybug may be confident, she may be strong and brave, and she may the one that keeps Paris in check - but anyone can be confident and brave when they wear a mask. Anyone can be a hero when they're given the chance. You were given the opportunity to be a hero and you. **You** , Marinette, _became_ Ladybug. You rose to the challenge." His cavalier smile remained on his face as he spoke next, "There is no Just Marinette and there's no Just Ladybug - there's only you. You and the kindness and love that you exude through every action you take in your life."

Marinette could feel the tears starting to run down her cheeks and tried to will them away by closing her eyes, she sniffled, unable to find the words to refute him - unable to find any words at all.

"Marinette," Cat Noir was whispering now, "You are wonderful and amazing, and you may be shy. You may be a stuttering mess," he teased, "But you're every bit as fantastic - every bit as _miraculous_ as Ladybug. Being more confident with the mask on doesn't mean that she's not you and that you're not her - it means that you're able to be _free_ when you wear the mask." He knew that one from experience. He scanned his eyes over Marinette's face, her eyes were still closed and tears were starting to reach her jawline. He tilted his head, his smile fading, and leaned forward, gently kissing her cheek. "Will you open your eyes, _Purr_ incess?" When she shook her head, he kissed her other cheek. "How about now?" Still no - he kissed her nose, "And now?" She hummed a little 'nuh-uh' at him. He kissed the corner of her mouth, his voice a soft whisper, "Now?"

Marinette opened her eyes, tears shining on the surface as she looked at him, "Okay…" she whispered.

"There's _my girl_ ," Cat Noir smiled again, and watched as Marinette's eyes flicked down to his lips and back up again. He smirked, raising an eyebrow, "See that?" he whispered, "That little confident thought that just passed through your mind?" he closed some of the distance between them, close enough to feel the little shuddering breath that she took as it impacted his lips, "That was the Ladybug in you."

Marinette glanced at his lips again, then smirked a little herself and threw her arms around his neck, yanking him down to her and smashing their lips together. She felt his arms come around her waist, lifting her gently off the ground, enough so that she crossed her ankles and curled her legs up in the air, supported only by their mutual hold on each other. Still keeping one arm around his neck, Marinette moved her hand up into his hair, curling several locks between her fingers as Cat Noir moved to the chaise, sitting down with her kneeling over him, her legs on either side of his own so that she was above him. She craned her head down, never breaking the kiss, and sighed against his mouth.

No longer supporting her, Cat Noir found that his hands were free to roam, and moved one to her hip, running his thumb up under the hem of her shirt and drawing small circles against her skin. The other hand moved to the small of her back, his fingers dancing a little jig on the surface of her shirt.

Marinette shuddered at his touch, her mouth opening slightly as she gasped for a little more oxygen to ease the spinning in her head. She shifted her position, sliding down into his lap so that she was still straddling him, and moved her hands to his chest. She played with his bell, giggling softly against his mouth when it jingled.

Cat Noir smirked against her lips, sliding his other hand from her back to her other hip, eventually drifting under her shirt there as well. He ran his leather-clad hand over her flesh, feeling her shift at his touch as he ran his hands a little higher.

"Excuse me,"

They both jumped, parting instantly. Marinette nearly fell off the chaise at the sound of Alya's voice ringing through the room.

"A-Alya-" Marinette gasped, breathless. A deep crimson blush spread across her cheeks and tipped her ears, "We-I-"

"I thought I left you in here to _talk_ , not…" she gestured at their compromising position. "I mean if you want me to go and let you do _ahem_ this. She scrolled her eyes up and down them, "Then I can just go."

"Yes, please," Cat Noir said with a little smirk and a wink as he ran his hand a little higher under Marinette's shirt, caressing her side about halfway up her ribs. He could feel her sharp inhale as she jumped a little at the touch.

"Kitty!" Marinette turned a deeper red, if that was possible, and spatted at his hand through her shirt. When he didn't remove it, she put her hands over her face, mortified.

"Marinette, can I talk to you?" Alya said, hands on her hips, "Alone?"

Marinette nodded sheepishly, hands still over her burning cheeks, and eased herself off of Cat Noir's lap. As she pulled away, she felt him trace his hands down her sides and along her hip bones before he withdrew them and cockily leaned back on his hands, that stupid adorable debonair smirk still dancing on his face. She balanced herself on the wall and hopped after Alya into the hall.

"What are you doing, girl?" Alya barked before Marinette was fully out the door, "One minute you're all about Adrien and now you're letting Cat Noir get handsy with you? Are you crazy?"

Marinette frowned, looking down at the floor as she closed her bedroom door and leaned against it. "I…" she played with the hem of her shirt, "I don't know. Last time he was here we kind of… kissed - a couple of times - and I just… it-"

Alya groaned, rubbing her head and sighing, "Did you at least talk or did you get straight to shoving your tongues down each others throats while I was out of the room?"

"We talked! I promise. We just also…"

"Also started feeling each other up."

"No! We weren't… we weren't feeling each- we didn't do anything!"

"You were _straddling_ him and his hands were _in your shirt!_ " Alya groaned and put her hands over her face so that she could groan louder into her palms, "If I hadn't walked in what were you going to do? Let him toss you down on the floor and-"

"Alya!"

"Sorry, I'm just… You're crazy, girl. A lot more bold than I've ever seen you be - and it was certainly a shock to walk in on you two going at it like that."

"We weren't going at anything!" Marinette's voice was nearly a shriek as she desperately tried to banish her blush by sheer force of will. "We were just… kissing. Passionately." She mumbled the last word.

"What about Adrien?"

Marinette looked at the floor, shaking her head slightly, "I don't know. I… Cat Noir is…"

"A mysterious cat-themed, leather-clad superhero whose real name you don't even know?"

Marinette nodded, "But he's also sweet, and funny, and kind, and he… makes me feel good."

"Yeah, I could tell that much."

"Not like that! He… when I'm upset, he helps. He... " she paused, still letting the words process, "He loves me."

"Do you love him?"

Did she love him? She definitely _liked_ him - but with feelings of love for Adrien still knocking about in most of the corners of her brain and jumbling up her heart, was she sure that she felt strongly enough for Cat Noir to say without a doubt that she loved him? She didn't answer Alya, still staring down and thinking.

"Marinette," Alya sighed, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Do you still love Adrien?"

A pause.

"Yes," she admitted softly.

They heard a thud come from behind her bedroom door and both turned around, staring at the door for a moment before they opened it and saw Cat Noir's tail retreating out of view.

"Cat Noir!" Marinette hobbled as fast as she could into the room and watched as Cat Noir escaped up onto the balcony. She groaned and looked back at Alya in desperation, "He heard us. He heard us, Alya!"

"If you care this much about him, go after him and talk to him about Adrien. _Really_ talk about stuff. No kissing."

"Alya!"

"Go!"

 **xxx**

 **I might've rushed this in an effort to write more sin- I mean to move the story along.**

 **No wait**

 **it was the first thing**

 **sorry not sorry**


	8. Chapter 8

**Realized after uploading 7 that I got the layout of Marinette's room wrong on multiple things - this is why we should proofread and not write at 3AM, I guess. Too late to fix it now, soooooo... Yolo.**

* * *

Cat Noir was sitting on the top of the railing, staring out over Paris as the sun began to set. He had one arm resting on his knee, dangling it into the open air. He was staring at his ring, deep in thought.

"Cat Noir?"

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as she came into view, leaning on the railing beside him.

"So you love _Adrien_ ," he laughed bitterly as he said his own name. Of course fate would spit in his face like this, having him be rejected by Ladybug for so long only to find out that she loved him in his civilian form. There was a form of cruel irony about it in there somewhere.

"You know him?"

"Who doesn't? His face is all over Paris." He gestured towards a nearby billboard, "I'd be surprised if someone didn't know him for once."

"I'm sorry you overheard us…" Marinette looked down at the street, frowning. "I… he's in my class. I've known him for awhile now."

"So, do you like him because he's rich?"

"What? No. Why would you ask that?"

"Do you like him because he's the son of a world famous designer?"

"No! Cat Noir-"

"Do you like him because he's handsome?"

"Looks have nothing to do with it!" She snapped at him finally, her hands curled into fists and her face red.

"So what is it? Because he's a model? Because he's popular?"

"No!" She was practically shaking with anger now, her knuckles were white from clenching her fists so hard. "It's not because of any of that! Sure, he's handsome and rich and everything, but it's not because of any of those reasons. He's the single-most kind, caring, sweet, funny, amazing person I've ever m-MMF!" She was silenced when Cat Noir darted off the railing and pulled her to him, kissing her firmly on the mouth.

He didn't know what had overcome him - if it was the adorable angry look on her face, the way she was defending him in every possible way without even knowing that he was sitting right in front of her, or the fact that she couldn't care less that he was rich or famous - she loved Adrien for Adrien - not his name, not his money, and not his looks. He couldn't help himself but scoop her up into his arms right there and show her how much more that made him love her.

Marinette struggled against him and pushed him away, "Cat Noir!" She squeaked, covering her mouth with one hand. She was blushing, but she was also still upset at him, "That was-" she glanced at him and noticed he had a cheshire grin on his face. "What are you smiling at?"

"Marinette…" he laughed, shaking his head, that grin still wrinkling the corners of his eyes. "How long have you loved him?"

She frowned, looking away, "Awhile. He… wasn't my friend at first. I thought he was messing with me like Chloe - putting gum in my seat." She started to smile, despite herself, "I was so mad at him, I even told him off about it and ignored him for a few days, but then-"

"He apologized to you. Told you the whole story. Gave you his umbrella." Cat Noir was still smiling at her, and that smile was only growing wider by the second.

"Yes! How did you-" her eyes bulged and she stared at him, all expression vanishing from her face. She was pretty sure she wasn't breathing, and she could her her heart start to thunder loudly and rapidly in her chest. She gulped as she took a few tentative steps in his direction, reaching out to his face. She skated her fingers across his jawline, traced up to the edge of his mask and ran her fingers across the underside of it. She imagined him without it, imagined his hair neater, his posture less cocky. "Oh my god," she jerked her hand away and covered her mouth. "Oh my god - oh my god!" She turned away from him, still covering her mouth.

Cat Noir furrowed his brow, "Marinette?" he put a hand on her shoulder and felt her stiffen, "Are you disappointed?"

Marinette shook her head so fast that several strands of hair escaped from the bun and fell along the back of her neck. She kept shaking her head for a solid minute until she made herself dizzy, then stopped and swayed a little on the spot. Was she dizzy or swooning over the fact that moments ago she'd been straddling Adrien? Oh my god she'd been straddling Adrien. Oh my god she'd been kissing Adrien. Oh my god.

"Marinette? Hello?" Cat Noir came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, causing her to jump slightly at his touch. He rested his chin on her shoulder and peered at her face, "Marinette you can breathe. It's just me. What difference does it make that I'm also Adrien? I mean I know you're not comfortable around me when I'm not Cat Noir, but you did say that you love me so I just thought-"

"I-I-I-" she felt like her face was about to burst. Words were getting tangled on her tongue, air seemed hard to come by, her heart was still hammering so hard that she could hear it ringing in her ears. "I just-" she could hear her voice getting higher in pitch as she struggled to get the words out, "I need-" she started to hyperventilate, her face going pale. "I-I-I need t-to sit," she pushed his arms away from her and took one step towards the chair on the other side of the balcony, but her legs had other plans and she collapsed on the spot.

"Marinette!"

"I-I just… need a minute…" she scooted out of his reach across the ground and took deep breaths.

"You're not, uh, you're not taking this as well as I hoped you would."

"N-no this is-" she took a deep breath, as deep as she could anyways - she was practically gasping, "-this is f-fine! I just need s-some hair - I mean air!"

"We're already outside, how much air could you-"

"I just need more air!" She looked a little woozy. Her head was spinning while her heart and stomach did simultaneous twists and backflips, sending her rapidly through a slew of emotions. She was shocked, mortified, elated, angry, elated again - she couldn't keep hold of one emotion for more than a few seconds before she felt the other one slam into her like a ton of bricks.

Cat Noir looked at her nervously, she looked like she was about to explode as her face went from pale to red and back again. "Marinette," he spoke quietly, moving in front of her and gently clasping her hands in his. He ran his thumb softly over the back of her hand and smiled a lopsided Adrien smile. "Ladybug," he started to grin unintentionally and Marinette could feel her heart hammer its way to a stop, "My Princess and my Lady," he lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles, "My beautiful girl that kissed me so softly to bid me good night," he kissed the back of her hand. "My sweet angel that kissed me so tenderly when only I knew her secret," he trailed his eyes up to hers, making her breath hitched anew. "My wonderful lady that kissed me so feverishly when we sat together." He moved closer to her face now, gently kissing her cheek before moving to brush her hair away from her ear. She could feel his breath tickle across her earlobe as he whispered, "Are you nervous because now you realize how many times you've kissed _Adrien_?"

She couldn't stop herself when a small squeak emerged from her mouth. That stupid smirk on his face, that mischief in his eyes - that was all Cat Noir, but the way he was tenderly holding her hands, the way the light danced across his golden hair and the way he smiled at her, a smile so full of love and admiration that it made her heart sing - that was Adrien. Her best friend and the boy she'd loved for so long all wrapped up in one neat package. She felt her face grow unbearably hot, hope for air fleeing from her as the gears in her brain froze as she tried to come to terms with it all. Adrien was touching her. Adrien was kissing her. Adrien had been making out with her. Adrien knew her secret. Adrien was Cat Noir. Adrien had pulled her into his lap. Adrien had nearly slid his hands high enough inside of her shirt to-

"I think I n-need to lay down," she said breathlessly before collapsing against him, the world going dark.

xxx

 **'On Ice' the fic that you come to for the... plot? and stay for the... idk the sin? Cause that's what I'm here for. I'm definitely here for the sin.**

 **I promise we'll get back into the meat of the story eventually, just let me have... this. To the reader that DM'd me and guessed a huge chunk of the plot - you're a butt but also you're great.**

 **okay i love you bye bye now**


	9. Chapter 9

**Had to rewrite some of this - advanced apologies if I repeated something or lapsed in a logical sense because of the rewrites.**

 **xxx**

"Marinette?"

Hey eyelids fluttered as she came to, twisting her head slightly to the side as she gazed blearily at the blurry face in front of her. She could just make out a little smile on the face of the blonde in front of her, and for a moment couldn't recall what had transpired on the balcony. She reached up, gently laying a hand on the cheek of the person in front of her, and squinted to try and see them better.

"There she is," she could see the smile grow a little wider, "Hey, you."

"Hey… you?" she started to sit up, the person in front of her wrapped an arm around her shoulders and assisting her, "What happened?" she closed her eyes and rubbed her head, taking a deep breath.

"You fainted," when she looked a little panicked the person rubbed her shoulder lightly, "Only a little - I only just got you down here a little while ago. Something tells me it wasn't just from the information overwhelming you either. You really should eat and sleep properly, even if you're not doing so well emotionally, you know."

Marinette nodded, rubbing her head still and trying to clear up some of the fuzz. She opened her eyes a little and glanced at the person sitting beside her, trailing her eyes up from their bright orange shoes to their jeans, the white overshirt, the stripes- "Oh my god," everything came flooding back to her in an instant and she covered her face. "Y-You detr-transformed!"

"Oh, yeah. Plagg needed something to eat. I hope you don't mind, he loves cheese and kind of… helped himself to your fridge." Adrien still had his arm around her, nonchalantly drawing little circles with his fingertips on her arm without really noticing that he was doing it, "Sorry I kind of… sprung this all on you," he blushed a little, "I just didn't expect to find out that you… I mean, you kind of sprung your secret on me, so I guess we're even - besides now we can hang out together like normal. Go to the movies, hang out at school… we could even go for a walk and," he trailed his hand down her arm as he spoke and laced his fingers into hers, "hold hands."

Marinette was quite familiar with what sound a tea kettle makes when the water is fully boiled - and she was entirely certain that that sound was now building in her throat as Adrien leaned so close to her and held her hand. She opened her mouth to say something back to him, but part of that sound escaped in a breathless squeak before she clamped her mouth shut again.

Adrien released her hand, pulling away a little, "Sorry," he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away, "I know you're uncomfortable with me. I think I said that once already - I just… I'm really happy, Marinette." He beamed at her, "Who knew the girl of my dreams had been one of my best friends for so long?"

Marinette looked at him, feeling her nervousness melt when that unabashedly happy smile graced his features. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him smile like that at anyone. She felt her apprehension subside, even if just for a moment, as she leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek. She still couldn't find words - she was lucky she could remember how to make her body react to signals sent from her own defective brain at this point - but she smiled at him as he looked at her in surprise from the gesture.

Adrien met her beautiful blue eyes with his own shining green and wondered how he'd never noticed before just how much she looked like Ladybug. All this time he'd been searching for the answer to get Ladybug to fall for him, while, unbeknownst to him, she already had. He sighed softly, placing a hand gently under Marinette's jaw and skated his thumb lightly across her lips. He watched her eyes flutter, her long eyelashes brushing the tops of her cheeks as she shuddered out a quiet breath. She was so cute when she was nervous, although her not being able to speak when she was nervous might eventually be a problem in their relationship, right now it was the cutest thing he'd ever witnessed. He flicked his eyes between her sky-blue orbs and her lips, then slowly descended his lips onto hers.

The kiss was soft, chaste - entirely different from the way they had kissed previously. Adrien was slow to move, just gently brushing his lips over hers before he moved away a fraction of an inch, then kissed her again, just as softly and sweetly as the first. He felt her hand move over top of his, her fingers lightly curling around the edges of his palm as she closed her eyes and moved closer to him, deepening the kiss a little.

When they parted, Marinette didn't open her eyes for a long moment, just letting the warmth on her lips hang there until she was sure she'd memorized the feel of it. Kissing Adrien - knowing what they both knew now - there was so much more power in it. Kissing Cat Noir had been almost entirely passion, an erupting volcano of emotion exploding against an unforgiving emotional tide that had pulled her down, but the passion of kissing Adrien - that was something even stronger, even wilder, even in the most innocent of kisses - because now they both knew that the person they'd been searching for, pining for for so long had been beside them through everything.

"Marinette," Adrien said after a moment, and watched her gaze flick up to meet his own, "There's something I need to ask you - and it's probably going to put a wedge in this…" he turned his hand in hers and pulled their clasped fingers down between their bodies. "Alya had to go - don't worry, she doesn't know, I waited until she was gone to detransform - but she mentioned something as she left that has me worried." He fiddled with his shirt with his free hand, looking away from her at the floor. "At the rink, why did you try to come to such a sudden stop?"

Marinette's heart dropped. She had hoped that Alya wouldn't tell anyone - that she'd keep the information about the incident a secret until Marinette could figure out who was responsible. Alya herself had been investigating, but hadn't yet found the culprit - whoever they were they were keeping a low profile about their involvement in it all - but Marinette could understand why she'd have told Cat Noir. As a superhero, and someone who had been… recently _involved_ with her, he probably would have had a vested interest in figuring out who had caused her to get hurt.

"I-I tripped. You know me, clumsy Mari-"

"Please don't lie to me, Marinette," Adrien squeezed her hand lightly, "Just… tell me what happened."

"I…" she looked down at their clasped hands, sighing as she hunched a little, "Okay."

She told him about the race - he knew that much, but that's where she started, to avoid getting straight to the punch. She told him about how she was gaining speed as much as she could, trying to catch up to Alya, probably overdoing it especially in that setting with that many people on the ice. She told him about the boot she'd seen swing out into view just as she got too close to think reasonably to avoid hitting whoever was trying to mess her up - how she'd panicked and tried to jam her toes down to stop herself, and he knew the rest. The fall, the running him down like a freight train, everything in excruciating detail that honestly made her realize that her head was still a little sore and her bruises still ached - not to mention her ankle.

"Did you see who it was?"

Marinette could feel his hand shaking slightly in her grasp and squeezed it lightly, "Not at first," she said in a smaller voice than she had intended. "But when we were leaving… I caught a glimpse - but I'm still not certain if it was-" she felt him tense when she mentioned seeing them as the pair had walked out of the rink, "Adrien it's… it's okay. Maybe they didn't mean to-"

"Don't make excuses for them," his words had more bite to them than Marinette had ever heard from his _or_ Cat Noir's mouth. He was gripping her hand perhaps a little tighter than he meant to, causing her to wince a little at the hold he had on her. "If they hadn't meant to do it, it wouldn't have happened like that." He shook his head, his hair falling over his eyes.

Marinette shifted, turning so that she was sitting with one leg up on the chaise, folded between them as she lifted their hands, resting her elbow on her leg. She did something unexpected then, resting her cheek gently against the back of his hand and kissing his knuckles softly in an effort to calm him down. She closed her eyes, her eyelashes tickling their joined fingers as she kissed his hand again, "Can we… come back to this another time? After everything that happened today…" she felt him tense again and squeeze her hand, she flinched. "Please," she whispered. "When you've calmed down… we'll come back around to it."

Adrien looked at her, she still had her eyes closed as she rested her head on their joined hands, she looked so tired - like this conversation had suddenly reminded her body of her awful sleep schedule. Maybe he shouldn't have tried so hard to rouse her from her fainting spell. "Fine," he said softly, his grip loosening enough that he could see her relax at the change. "I'm sorry," he said, using his free hand to stroke her hair lightly, "You're right, I need to just… take a second before we come back to this," he felt her nod lightly as he spoke and smiled, "It's nice to hear you speak in full sentences again, sorry that it's because of a serious topic." He smiled, leaning forward and planting a kiss on her forehead. He watched her go red from hairline to chin before she sat up straight again and looked at the floor, avoiding eye contact but not letting go of his hand. He couldn't help but laugh heartily at the sight of her dinnerplate-sized eyes as she snapped back into the realization that she was holding his hand, that they'd shared yet another kiss. It was adorable.

They sat in silence for a moment while the beet red color slowly ebbed away from Marinette's face, the only sound within the room was that of Tikki and Plagg chattering quietly from somewhere near Marinette's desk - both kwamis determined to give the supercouple all the space they needed to talk and get comfortable with each other again. After a short time, a light rumbling sound filled the space between them. Adrien could see Marinette go red again, but said nothing until the sound came a second time. Without saying a word he slipped his hand away from hers and stood up, standing in front of her with both hands outstretched palms-up.

"Lets get you something to eat, Princess," he said with a smile and a cocked eyebrow.

Marinette looked up at him, fighting the urge to collapse in on herself from embarrassment as she slid her hands into his and let him hoist her onto her feet. She balanced herself carefully beside him as he helped her out of the room and down to the kitchen.

When she moved to step away from him so that she could start cooking something, Adrien placed his hand over hers to stop her, "Sit," he said, pointing at a chair. "I'll take care of it."

In all honesty, those words didn't settle well with her. Adrien had a private chef that cooked all of his meals, how much experience did he have with cooking, or being in a kitchen in general? She took a seat, chewing her lip as she watched him wander around opening cabinets and pulling things out of them.

None at all appeared to be the answer to her question. After about ten minutes of listening to Adrien ponder out loud the purpose of some of the utensils and cookware he had found, Marinette had turned around to find him squinting at a measuring cup with a frustrated look on his face. At best, she could assume he knew how to work a toaster - at worst he might not even know how to spread his own peanut butter on bread.

"Adrien," she said softly, rising from her seat at the table. "Sit."

"No, I've got this just…" he squinted harder at the measuring cup, then looked at the other items he'd laid out on the counter, "Just give me a second." He looked incredibly overwhelmed - Marinette had to suppress a giggle as she came over and took the measuring cup from his hands.

"Sit," she said again, then nodded when he pulled up a chair and sat backwards in it, crossing his arms on top of the back of the chair and watching her as she moved about the kitchen grabbing this and that.

Marinette got into the zone and moved around quickly - as quickly as she was able, anyways - mixing this and cooking that. Within twenty minutes she had whipped together a couple of sandwiches and some croissants for the two of them, as well as a small tray of cookies, and a platter of cheese with bread. She was arranging everything onto a few plates when she felt a warmth at her back and turned slightly to find Adrien standing right behind her. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, eyeballing the croissants on the tray in her hand.

"Those smell amazing," he said softly, resting his chin on her shoulder. "Can I have one right now?"

"You're hot - I mean th-they're hot," Marinette could feel her hand start to shake and frantically put the tray down before she sent croissants flying in every direction. She could see him still eyeballing the croissants out of the corner of her eye as she stared down at the counter in an attempt to regain her composure before things got out of hand - literally and figuratively. She took a breath, but found it hard to focus on calming herself when his arms were still wrapped around her. She tried to turn and move away from him for her own sanity, but he refused to remove himself from her. "A-Adrien I need to-" she shifted again.

Adrien instantly let go, blushing furiously, "I- sorry." He darted his eyes away, then back to her, smiling before plopping back down in his chair to watch the master at work.

Eventually, Marinette managed to get everything ready, then placed everything on a tray and stared at it for a moment, blushing, "We should… take this upstairs - there's snacks for Tikki and Plagg a-and I have the tv up there and everything… we could watch a movie. Or not - if you don't want to - we can eat in here it's fine."

Adrien smiled, picking up the tray with one hand and balancing it on his palm, then sticking his arm out, "Milady," he said with a bow of his head and a wink.

Marinette couldn't stop the little giggle that escaped her as she looped her arm in his, half-hugging herself to his side. She remembered they'd taken a similar position to this during their fight with Glaciator - only then they'd been pretending to be a couple. Now they were… something entirely different.

As they made their way back up to her room, Marinette couldn't help herself but cling a little closer to him - it both helped her keep from falling and hurting herself, and it was just… nice. Sure, Adrien smelled a little like cheese, but he also smelled like a light cologne - probably his own fragrance, she reasoned - and his shampoo. The combination had her practically swooning by the time they got settled back up in her room and she had to let go of him - probably for the best though, because her heart had started hammering against her ribs so hard that she was sure they'd bruise.

They settled on the chaise, plates in their laps, the small plates of cookies and cheese left on the desk for their kwamis who both took a seat, munching happily on their treats.

They ate in near-silence apart from the tv chattering on the other side of the room, but neither paid it much attention as they stared down at the plates in their respective laps. Marinette was hyperaware of the sound of her own chewing, even if she was eating soft foods, and took tiny, careful bites to try and minimize any potential sounds. Adrien, on the other hand, was practically grinning as he enjoyed the meal Marinette had made for him, although he did feel a little guilty for not being able to treat her to something he'd made - he just hadn't been quite sure where to start with all those cooking utensils.

When they had finished, Adrien took the plates and sat them in a neat pile on her desk, then moved back to the chaise. He glanced at her, then cleared his throat. "Now that we're both… calm, can we talk? Seriously. About," he gestured at her foot.

Marinette sighed. She had hoped he'd let it go for much longer than this, maybe entirely so that she wouldn't have to talk about it at all if she could help it. She nodded despite her apprehension, "Okay."

"You said you caught a glimpse of them as we were leaving that day," he didn't touch her, didn't even make a move towards her, but he saw her almost flinch away from him as she adjusted herself on the chaise, her eyes fixated down at her hands, her fingers locking and unlocking themselves together as she tried to find something to occupy herself. "Do you _think_ you know who it was?"

Marinette sighed again, she seemed to be doing that a lot lately, and nodded a little. Even Alya didn't know who Marinette suspected to be the culprit - she didn't need her feisty best friend getting into a fight with someone, especially when she couldn't be there to help her.

"Will you tell me who it is?" Adrien leaned down a little and tilted his head up at her so that she could just see his face out of the corner of her eye, "Cats' honor I won't go picking a fight unless it would be the responsible thing for me to do as your bo- as the person you've been, uh, spending time with. Lately. In this room. And kissing." _Good job, Adrien - you made it weird._

Marinette didn't seem to notice his little slip, though, as she was still toying mindlessly with her own fingers and trying very hard not to notice those bright emeralds staring at her. She bit her lip, chewing it thoughtfully as she weighed the consequences of telling Adrien - who could easily get out of her reach before she could stop him from leaping off the balcony as Cat Noir - who she suspected of being the one to hurt her. It was for the best, she ultimately decided, to tell him the truth.

"As we were leaving," she began, "I looked back behind us - something felt off - and I saw L-"

"Oh Ladybug, oh Cat Noir, won't you come and save the good people of Paris?" A voice suddenly mocked, breaking through the relative quiet of their conversation. The duo both directed their attention to the television, seeing a familiar smirking face consume most of the screen.

"Lila."

 **xxx**

 **Updates are going to be a tad more slow for a little bit - not only did I successfully do a dumb and hurt my wrist in a fall, but also Kingdom Hearts 3 came out and anyone who has followed this account since its conception knows... I'm a big ol' KH fangirl. In fact, I fully intend to save as frequently as possible for the sole purpose of being able to replay any scene with Demyx in it as many times as I possibly can because he's my perfect little waterbaby.**

 **On non-KH related news... Hi, we're back to the meat.**

 _ **But we're probably not done sinning**_ __ _ **yet.**_


	10. Chapter 10

"You're not going."

"I am going."

"No, you're still injured - you're staying home."

"I don't care _what_ I _am_ I'm going!" Marinette had a fierce look in her eyes, they'd been arguing for a solid couple of minutes already, her body half-raised off the chaise while Adrien's hands were firmly on her shoulders trying to keep her from standing and racing into a fight that she'd certainly lose.

"No, you're not. You'll get hurt again, and I-" Adrien sighed, shaking his head, "Marinette please just sit still," he said softly when she struggled against him to rise. "Please stay here."

"You can't _purify_ the akuma - if it gets away then it'll multiply! And Lila, that sneaky conniving-" she stopped herself suddenly, the fire behind her eyes flickering out briefly when she realized who she was talking to, "She… we have to stop her." She glanced away, her cheeks tinted a light pink. She hadn't meant to be in a shouting match with Adrien, but when she couldn't go out and do her job as Ladybug it had set off something inside of her that made her angry at him without intending to be.

"I know… Look, I'll-" he stood up straight, releasing her as he sighed, rubbing the back of his head as he gazed off into a corner of the room, thinking, "I'll capture it. I'll get… I don't know, a jar."

"A jar. You're going to capture an evil magical butterfly in a jar." Plagg sighed, hovering up to his shoulder and shaking his head, "You two really are hopeless. There's an _obvious_ solution to all of this," he said, gesturing vaguely between the two of them. When neither seemed to catch his drift, he gestured at Tikki, who had previously tried to stop the argument before it started - a miserable failure of a plan - and was now just hovering behind Marinette watching the exchange. "Do you think he could do it?"

Tikki squinted at Plagg, trying to figure out what he meant, then a small gasp escaped her. "Plagg, no," She shook her head frantically, crossing her arms, "You're not thinking-"

"Come on Sugarcube, it's not like he's not capable," he lazily plopped himself down on Adrien's head, grinning, "Besides, if he starts to do poorly he can just come back here and Marinette can take them back."

"No. No no no no," Tikki was still shaking her head, her tiny cheeks puffed out as she tried to fend off whatever twisted logic Plagg was using. "Not only is that reckless and irresponsible as an _idea_ alone, if they actually did it would put everything on the line! What if he got into a bad situation and couldn't get away? No. No, I won't allow it."

"What are you two talking about?" Adrien said, trying to glance up at the top of his own head to look at Plagg. "Won't allow what, Tikki?"

"Take what back, Plagg?" Marinette turned to her kwami, her head slightly cocked to the side, "What's going on?"

" _Weeeeeeell_ ," Plagg grinned even wider, leaning over Adrien's forehead and tapping him on the nose, "There is a solution to your problem. A very simple one. Cat Noir can't purify an akuma, but Ladybug can."

"Yeah but Marinette is hurt, she can't-"

"Right. Marinette is hurt so you don't want her to be Ladybug, but Ladybug has to be there to purify the akuma," Plagg tapped him on the nose again, "Come on, Adrien, you're smarter than this. I think." He frowned, seeing the vacant lack of understanding in Adrien's eyes and sighed in frustration - he thought this would be more fun.

"Plagg stop it," Tikki squeaked, hovering closer to the earrings Marinette was wearing, "They can't-"

"If Marinette can't go out-"

"Plagg, stop it."

"But Adrien can-"

"Plagg!"

"And Ladybug is the only one with the power to purify an akuma-"

"Plagg!" Tikki rushed over, slamming her hands over his mouth and knocking him off Adrien's head. "Shush!"

Marinette and Adrien both stared at their kwamis for what seemed like hours as the gears turned in their heads. Marinette can't go out, but Adrien can. Cat Noir can't purify an akuma, but Ladybug can. If Marinette can't go out as Ladybug, then Adrien… Almost simultaneously, they snapped their eyes to each other, eyebrows raised, as they both uttered a soft, "Oh."

 **xxx**

 **Little on the short side - sorry about that. 11 will be significantly longer, but between KH3 and the time to write it it'll be a little bit. I promise once I finish KH3 updates will go back to fairly frequent. And, hey, I've got an AU idea I'm super excited about that I'll be starting soon, too! I'll try and get this finished before I jump ship to it, but the idea is going bonkers in my skull so we'll see what happens.**

 **Special thanks to OnlyHere4Puckabrina - I rewrote this chapter from the ground up because your idea was** ** _significantly_** **better than mine and I loved it. I apologize if it feels like I stole it out from under you, but it was absolutely BRILLIANT! Ily.**


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